The DARK CAROUSEL series is a heart-stopping mix of American Horror Story and the fantastical elements of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
The final terrifying story of The Dark Carousel series.
As the day of Cassie's marriage to the centuries-old spirit, Balthazar, grows chillingly close, she finds a secret way to the high tower. The shadowy inhabitant of the tower has haunted her mind since her first day at the castle.
In the tower, Cassie makes a shocking discovery, after which nothing can be the same.
Before Cassie's last stand against the castle ends, she'll fight the serpent shadows that swoop in like spectres from across the frozen wastelands, and she'll face down Balthazar and the serpent empress herself.
But her greatest fight will come from within.
NOTE: This is the fourth book in a series and there will be spoilers for the previous books in the series. Read my review for book one here, book two here, and book three here.
MY THOUGHTS
I've made it to the last book in the series! This had a lot more going on than the previous books, but I still don't think it was as great as the first book in the series.
Cassie is now Balthazar's wife and she fears the day spring comes and Balthazar wakes up to impregnate her. She spends her days locked in the marionette cabinet, her nights outside under the stars. But she's not giving up, she's found a secret location where Ettinette, Balthazar's first wife, tried to escape. At the same time, Ethan is alive, but he is in the other dimension and far from Cassie.
While the last few books have been lackluster because nothing happens, this book has a lot happening. Almost too much because I wasn't sure what was happening sometimes. The pacing is fast, and some times things felt too coincidental (i.e. a person they know just happens to be there when they need them). Like the last book, we occasionally get Ethan's perspective. He has to journey from Canada to Maimi in the frozen world, but almost all of this is skipped over. We also see some short chapters from Tobias' and Jessamine's perspectives, which I liked because they do need closure in their stories.
This book combines many of the elements of the previous books. Many of the locations make a return. The parallel universe aspect is much larger in this book than the previous book, which made it a lot more interesting. There are also quite a number of twists and surprises along the way. I alluded to events feelings coincidental, and that comes partially from the fact that almost every character that has appeared in this series makes an appearance in this book. I do think Anya Allyn has a lot of interesting ideas, though. Really, this is unlike any other series I've read before, and she's created a very unique series. I just wish it was more focused.
While I have previously struggled with Cassie's character, she has certainly grown throughout the series. She has been in incredibly frightening situations, and she handles them with a lot more strength and bravery than I ever would. This book further explains that Cassie was always meant to be a part of this mess which, again, bothers me. I'm not the biggest fan of books that say characters are fated to do such and such. I prefer it when they are ordinary people put into extraordinary situations. When characters are fated to do something, it makes their strength less outstanding, because they were always going to do it.
Now, about that ending. The ending is a huge surprise and a huge risk. It's the kind of ending that may upset quite a few people. [highlight to view spoiler] So, Ethan is killed by Balthazar and then Cassie later drowns while killing the serpent queen. The last chapter flashes to another dimension with Cassie moving to Australia with her family (including Prudence). I didn't dislike this ending, maybe I would have been upset if I were more attached to the series (especially the romance). It did confuse me a bit because the serpent queen says that Cassie will remember everything in her life and it will haunt her, but then she doesn't. Prudence seems to though. Does this also mean that Cassie (and everyone else) are doomed to repeat everything all over again in each world? Or is this a world that they will live peacefully in? It is an interesting way to end a series, but it left me with more questions. Also, this is the third book I read this month in which the main character dies, so you know, I'm getting tired of these dark endings.[end of spoiler]
Cassie is now Balthazar's wife and she fears the day spring comes and Balthazar wakes up to impregnate her. She spends her days locked in the marionette cabinet, her nights outside under the stars. But she's not giving up, she's found a secret location where Ettinette, Balthazar's first wife, tried to escape. At the same time, Ethan is alive, but he is in the other dimension and far from Cassie.
While the last few books have been lackluster because nothing happens, this book has a lot happening. Almost too much because I wasn't sure what was happening sometimes. The pacing is fast, and some times things felt too coincidental (i.e. a person they know just happens to be there when they need them). Like the last book, we occasionally get Ethan's perspective. He has to journey from Canada to Maimi in the frozen world, but almost all of this is skipped over. We also see some short chapters from Tobias' and Jessamine's perspectives, which I liked because they do need closure in their stories.
This book combines many of the elements of the previous books. Many of the locations make a return. The parallel universe aspect is much larger in this book than the previous book, which made it a lot more interesting. There are also quite a number of twists and surprises along the way. I alluded to events feelings coincidental, and that comes partially from the fact that almost every character that has appeared in this series makes an appearance in this book. I do think Anya Allyn has a lot of interesting ideas, though. Really, this is unlike any other series I've read before, and she's created a very unique series. I just wish it was more focused.
While I have previously struggled with Cassie's character, she has certainly grown throughout the series. She has been in incredibly frightening situations, and she handles them with a lot more strength and bravery than I ever would. This book further explains that Cassie was always meant to be a part of this mess which, again, bothers me. I'm not the biggest fan of books that say characters are fated to do such and such. I prefer it when they are ordinary people put into extraordinary situations. When characters are fated to do something, it makes their strength less outstanding, because they were always going to do it.
Now, about that ending. The ending is a huge surprise and a huge risk. It's the kind of ending that may upset quite a few people. [highlight to view spoiler] So, Ethan is killed by Balthazar and then Cassie later drowns while killing the serpent queen. The last chapter flashes to another dimension with Cassie moving to Australia with her family (including Prudence). I didn't dislike this ending, maybe I would have been upset if I were more attached to the series (especially the romance). It did confuse me a bit because the serpent queen says that Cassie will remember everything in her life and it will haunt her, but then she doesn't. Prudence seems to though. Does this also mean that Cassie (and everyone else) are doomed to repeat everything all over again in each world? Or is this a world that they will live peacefully in? It is an interesting way to end a series, but it left me with more questions. Also, this is the third book I read this month in which the main character dies, so you know, I'm getting tired of these dark endings.[end of spoiler]
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this was an interesting conclusion to the series. I don't know whether I'm glad I continued this series or not, but, again, I think the author has some fantastic ideas. I just wish they were more focused. Book one is by far the best in the series, and I think the original concept got lost along the way. I don't know if I will read more from this author or not. I kind of want to see if she has any other interesting ideas and whether her writing has grown since this series, but I'm worried I'll just end up disappointed.
I hereby give this book
3 Stars
Meaning: I liked it.
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